Okay. So my almost perfect, swimsuit-model in the making daughter didn’t quite come out of the oven 100% blemish free. As it currently stands, my little floppy dribble monster comes with two minor defects: 1) a head of red hair (in other words, she’s a Ginger – and everyone is blaming me for this one) and 2) an umbilical hernia – or as Daddy likes to call it, a belly doorbell.
Basically what an umbilical hernia is, is simply a hernia at the base of the of the umbilical cord, in other words where you would usefully find the belly button, taking on the form of a big fleshy bubble. It is pretty harmless, should disappear on its own between 2 and 3 years of age, or at worst case can be fixed with a simple operation. It doesn’t carry any danger and apart from looking really funny, isn’t really a problem for the baby.
It is pretty funny to watch though. When she is relaxed, you can squeeze and prod the bubble right in, but when she strains, like when she’s crying or trying to get a wind out, the bubble expands to almost double its normal size!
And of course it provides endless entertainment for Daddy, who likes nothing more than pressing it and calling out ‘Ding Dong’ at the same time.
Mommy isn’t all that impressed with Daddy.